Bio 406/506 Course Page

Bio 406/506

SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION

This course is intended to focus on the basic concepts of how cells communicate with each other and how signals are transmitted within a cell in response to a stimulus to the cell. Students who successfully complete this course should be able to describe how cells generate responses when stimulated, understand how these signals are regulated, and characterize why different types of stimulus result in unique responses and how that affects cellular reactions.

Time and Location:

T, Th 9:30-10:50 AM
205 NSC

Instructors:	Dr. Kathryn Medler	Dr. Brian Pierchala	Dr. Paul Cullen
email:	kmedler@buffalo.edu	bap7@buffalo.edu	pjcullen@buffalo.edu
Office:	C619 Cooke Hall	C341 Cooke Hall	C625 Cooke Hall
Phone:	645-2363 x163	645-2363 x144	645-2363 x200
Office Hours:	Dr. Medler M 10-11am and T 11-12pm, or by appointment	Dr. Pierchala M 10-12pm	2-5pm
Office appointments are intended to clarify lecture material, NOT to review entire lecture contents. Questions about specific lecture material need to be directed to the presenting lecturer. If you need to make an appointment, please send an email to the instructor.

Textbook: Signal Transduction by Gomperts et al. ISBN 0-12-289631-9

Grading: Letter grades will be determined from 300 total points. No extra credit will be given.

Three exams (in class), 100 points each 300 points total

Grading scale: >270=A, 240-269=B, 210-239=C, 180-209=D, <180=F. Any assignment of +/- or curving of grades will be at the discretion of the instructors and will be made at the end of the semester. No decision will be made until final grades are assessed.

Makeup policy: Makeups may only be scheduled for medical reasons. To schedule a makeup exam, the student must submit a signed doctor’s note explaining why the student couldn’t attend the exam at the correct time and includes the doctor’s name and phone number for verification. Make up exams will be all short answer/essay questions and must be taken before exam keys are posted and exams are returned. Otherwise, any missed exams will count as a 0 towards the final grade.

It is each student's responsibility to obtain lecture notes and learn the material covered. Similarly, each student is responsible for any announcement given in class -`Not being in class’ is not an excuse.

Students enrolled for graduate credit (Bio 506) will have additional readings and take home exams and will be graded on a different grading scale. Please see the instructors for specific information and any questions.

Course Outline

Date	Topic	Lecturer	Readings
8/28	Introduction to cell signaling	Medler	Ch 1 & Ch 2
8/30	Ligand gated receptors	Medler	Ch 3
9/4	G protein coupled receptors, regulation & heterotrimeric G proteins	Medler	Ch 3 & Ch 4
9/6	G proteins (small & heterotrimeric) & regulators of G-protein signaling	Medler	Ch 4 & outside reading
9/11	Effector enzymes-Cyclase pathways	Medler	Ch 5
9/13	NO CLASS-Rosh Hashanah	---
9/18	Effector enzymes-Phospholipase pathways	Medler	Ch 5 & outside reading
9/20	Phosphodiesterase & visual pathways	Medler	Ch 6
9/25	Calcium signaling	Medler	Ch 7 & 8
9/27	EXAM 1	Medler
10/2	Receptor tyrosine kinases and growth factors	Pierchala	Ch 10, Ch 11 & outside reading
10/4	Signaling pathways operated by RTKs	Pierchala	Ch 11 & Ch 18
10/9	RTK regulation of gene expression	Pierchala	Ch 11 &outside reading
10/11	Phosphoinositide 3-kinases and protein kinase B	Pierchala	Ch 13
10/16	Non-receptor protein tyrosine kinases	Pierchala	Ch 12
10/18	Downregulation mechanisms of RTKs	Pierchala	Ch 17 &outside reading
10/23	Tyrosine kinase pathways and human disease	Pierchala	Ch 10 &outside reading
10/25	Ser/Thr kinase receptors	Pierchala	Ch 16
10/30	Signaling through nuclear hormone receptors	Pierchala	Outside readings
11/1	EXAM 2	Pierchala
11/6	Scaffolding proteins as specificity factors	Cullen	Ch 9
11/8	Growth factors & the cell cycle	Cullen	Ch 10
11/13	Developmental signaling pathways	Cullen	Outside readings
11/15	Developmental signaling pathways	Cullen	Outside readings
11/20	Signaling by adhesion molecules	Cullen	Ch 14
11/22	NO CLASS-Fall Recess
11/27	Leukocyte migration	Cullen	Ch 15
11/29	Chemotaxis, polarized growth, wound healing	Cullen	Outside readings
12/4	Genomic approaches to signaling problems	Cullen	Outside readings
12/6	Engineering Protein Kinases and Proteomics Approaches	Cullen	Outside readings
	EXAM 3	Cullen	TBA